Author Archives: Phoenix Rising

Civil Unions: Automatic Upgrade to Marriage?

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  by: Phoenix Rising Thu February 28, 2013 at 7:35 PM MDT

There's lots of news to be had today on gay rights.

First, the Colorado State House Judiciary Committee today heard arguments on the Civil Unions bill. The bill is expected to pass easily through committee votes and then on the floor with some Republican support.

But the big news for Coloradans looking forward to more gay rights in the state may have come from the U.S. Department of Justice's amicus brief today in the Supreme Court review of California's Proposition 8. In it the Obama Administration argues that denying the name "marriage" to gay couples while providing domestic partner benefits equivalent to marriage fails any test of scrutiny the Court might choose – essentially, that marriage status should be conferred in states who offer civil union status to LGBT couples. Now, Amendment 43 bars this recognition, but presumably that would be overturned if the Supreme Court agrees to the Administration's argument.


Full story: Civil Unions: Automatic Upgrade to Marriage?

At Least He’s Not Your Assemblyman

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue February 12, 2013 at 3:31 PM MDT

(promoted by PCG for being genuinely worse than any of our reps even on a bad day.)

Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks (D-Las Vegas) is no longer welcome in Nevada's legislative chambers and has been ejected from the Democratic Caucus following a series of violent outbursts…

Raw Story tells the tale:

Brooks was arrested January 19 on a felony charge after allegedly threatening Assembly Democratic Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, then detained by police several days later on a domestic disturbance call at his grandmother’s home.

[...] officers arrested Brooks on Sunday outside his wife’s Las Vegas home. A police report claims he attempted to choke her and threw punches at police, then threatened his wife as he was being taken away.

Way to go, soon-to-be-former-Assemblyman Brooks. Threatening your wife, your grandmother, and the state Assembly Speaker all within a month – takes real skill and courage… Jerk.


Full story: At Least He’s Not Your Assemblyman

Colorado Joins S&P Fraud Lawsuit Bandwagon

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue February 5, 2013 at 3:01 PM MDT

(promoted by PCG)

The Associated Press (via the Houston Chronicle) is reporting that Colorado Attorney General Suthers has filed suit on behalf of the state against Standard & Poors for fraudulently inflating the ratings of risky derivatives investments in the years leading up to the Great Recession.

Colorado joins the Federal government and at least twelve other states in filing lawsuits against the ratings agency today. Colorado's suit was filed in the Denver District court.

The article claims that the Federal government seeks at least $5 billion in damages from S&P, but reports yesterday are that the government was negotiating for at least $8 billion when talks broke down. No details are provided on additional state damage amounts.


Full story: Colorado Joins S&P Fraud Lawsuit Bandwagon

DC Circuit Court Overturns Recess Appointments

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  by: Phoenix Rising Fri January 25, 2013 at 1:16 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In a move that is sure to have repercussions down the road, The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has invalidated the appointments of three National Labor Relations Board members – and, essentially, all of the decisions made by the board in the past year.

The ruling, unanimously issued by a panel of three conservative jurists, states that the recess appointment is limited to the period of time after Congress has recessed for the remainder of the session (once every two years before the next session is sworn in) – i.e. almost never in today’s Congressional schedule. It further limits recess appointments to those positions that open up during the recess. (more…)


Full story: DC Circuit Court Overturns Recess Appointments

Can We Talk About Gun Violence?

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  by: Phoenix Rising Mon January 14, 2013 at 9:06 PM MDT

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)



Tomorrow – Tuesday – the President’s gun violence task force led by VP Biden is scheduled to unveil the results and recommendations of its work. At this point, no-one really knows what might be in the proposal, but we have a few vague clues.

In advance of the announcement though, we might have a glimpse of some of the possibilities. The Center For American Progress today released its own report on gun violence prevention (PDF) with a list of 16 recommendations – a mix of things that require the attention of Congress, plus a few things that the President might be able to do via Executive Order.

What do you think? Do you have anything to add to the mix? What could we take from this report to use in Colorado without waiting for the Federal government to act?

The report groups recommended actions into three categories, and then further divides each category into Congressional action and Executive action. I’ve purposely made these points brief and will leave discussion to the comments.

Category 1: Improve Background Checks

  • Universal background checks (Congress)
  • Improve background check data (Congress)
  • Broaden the cefinition of “Stalker” (Congress)
  • Restrict firearms purchase by those on the Terrorist Watch List (Congress)
  • Restrict DOJ grants to states that do not contribute data to the NICS system (Executive)
  • Ensure Federal agencies are contributing all appropriate data to NICS (Executive)
  • Order the ATF to perform background checks of gun store employees when performing audits (Executive)

Category 2: Weapon Restrictions

  • Reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, or some modern variant thereof (Congress)
  • Ban high-capacity magazines (Congress)
  • Broaden reporting of multiple-gun sales to include assault style weapons (Executive)

Category 3: Use The Data

  • Eliminate various riders restricting use of gun data from future appropriations bills (Congress)
  • Increase penalties for gun trafficking and background check violations (Congress)
  • Absorb ATF duties into the FBI (Executive)

Which ideas sound good to you?

View Results

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Full story: Can We Talk About Gun Violence?

No Love For Gessler Voter Fraud Witch-hunt At FOX

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue September 25, 2012 at 12:59 AM MDT

( – promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)



[Major Update]: As I was contemplating this in the solitude of a car drive in the mountains, I realized that FOX might have buried the lede on this story, and that I followed right along…

Did Sec. Gessler induce citizens to unregister as voters? This story was based around the 3903 letters sent out to “potentially illegally registered voters”, of which we Colorado Pols readers know that Gessler claims 141 responses were sent back asking to be voluntarily unregistered. This story mentions that of those 141 responses, 35 voted in past elections, and that the Denver Clerk’s office found that all eight of those voters registered in Denver were citizens.

The FOX story doesn’t note this fact – perhaps because they aren’t sure of the significance of those 141 people. But my read of this is that Secretary of State Gessler through his very well documented actions caused citizens through perhaps misleading or intimidating means to unregister themselves as voters. That could be a Federal no-no.

Surfaced at Google News, from FOX News:

Election Officials Who Vowed War On Voter Fraud Find Little Proof Of It:

Last year, Gessler estimated that 11,805 noncitizens were on the rolls.

But the number kept getting smaller.

After his office sent letters to 3,903 registered voters questioning their status, the number of noncitizens now stands at 141, based on checks using a federal immigration database. Of those 141, Gessler said 35 have voted in the past. The 141 are .004 percent of the state’s nearly 3.5 million voters.

Even those numbers could be fewer.

The Denver clerk and recorder’s office, which had records on eight of the 35 voters who cast ballots in the past, did its own verification and found that those eight people appear to be citizens.



The folks here at Colorado Pols will, of course, find this as no surprise at all.  Secretary of State Gessler’s manufactured crisis, about which he testified in front of Congress, turns out to be nothing but vapor.

Which of course begs the question of Scott Gessler…

What question does it beg?

View Results

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Full story: No Love For Gessler Voter Fraud Witch-hunt At FOX

At Least It’s Not Your GOP State Convention

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue June 5, 2012 at 2:24 AM MDT

(Yowza – promoted by Colorado Pols)



There are no words for this.

At the Louisiana state GOP Convention, Ron Paul supporters claim to have had a strong majority (they dominated the state’s caucuses back in April, giving them the most delegates to the convention). But the establishment GOP refused to recognize the convention’s election results and instead had the newly elected Rules Committee chair (and subsequently elected and ignored State Party Chair) hauled off by the police.

Both of the Paul chairs were injured in the process of being evicted from the convention.  The RNC now gets to decide (not based on facts, naturally) who runs the Louisiana GOP and whose delegates get to go to the national convention.


Full story: At Least It’s Not Your GOP State Convention

At Least She’s Not Your State Supreme Court Justice (And Family!)

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  by: Phoenix Rising Sat May 19, 2012 at 4:40 PM MDT

(Walker Stapleton, eat your heart out – promoted by Colorado Pols)



From the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette

State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin surrendered to authorities this afternoon to face nine criminal counts pertaining to her alleged use of state resources for campaign purposes. [...] Justice Melvin was identified as a target of the grand jury in December. The charges include three counts of theft of services, two counts of criminal conspiracy to commit tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, two counts of official oppression and one count each of criminal conspiracy to commit theft of services and misapplication of entrusted property of government.

“It now appears that not only was Justice Orie Melvin directly and knowingly involved in using state paid staffers from both the judicial and legislative branches of the Pennsylvania government in her political campaign activities, but it also appears that she was aided in those endeavors by two accomplices, co-conspirator and siblings — Janine Mary Orie and [State Sen.] Jane Clare Orie,” according to the presentment.

Her sister, State Senator Jane Orie, was convicted in March on 14 counts for her own misuse of state resources (and apparently the cover-up that followed).


Full story: At Least She’s Not Your State Supreme Court Justice (And Family!)

“Political Issues” Costing CO Taxpayers $165k Daily

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  by: Phoenix Rising Wed February 29, 2012 at 9:12 PM MDT

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)



POLS UPDATE: Full release from Colorado House Democrats after the jump:

“The House Republicans are always talking about respecting taxpayers,” Rep. Pabon said. “I’ve asked the Republican leadership more than once to move this bill. It’s simply absurd to let it just sit there, when everyone knows it’s costing our local governments tens of thousands of dollars every day.”

—–

Good reporting by The Paper That Shall Not Be Named, which reports today that “Political Issues” are causing a hold-up in the state House that is costing taxpayers nearly $165,000 daily.

The held up bill is House Bill 1005, a bill to loosen the investment terms for local and county governments.  Colorado it seems is the only state in the nation that requires its municipal governments to invest in nothing with fewer than 2 triple-A ratings.  But since Republicans staged their brinksmanship last year, U.S. government-backed securities no longer hold that rating, and so money that could be invested for a period of time is now essentially sitting under the county mattress.

As you might guess, this critical adjustment has bipartisan support, including that of Treasurer Walker Stapleton.  The bill passed out of the House Finance Committee on a unanimous vote back on Groundhog Day, but it has been stuck ever since.

House sponsor Rep. Pabon (D-Denver) asked the Republican leadership what was holding up the bill, he was told “there were political issues that had to do with supporters of the bill”, with no further explanation.  What exactly those issues are, no-one is willing to say, but House Speaker Frank McNulty is apparently among the obstructors; his spokesman is quoted as saying simply: “Different bills move at different paces.”

(h/t to RSB’s ghost)

The Clock Is Ticking

Pabon’s Bill Saves Colorado Taxpayers $164,383 a Day, But GOP Isn’t Acting on It

Feb 29, 2012

(Denver) – Despite broad bipartisan support and the fact that it saves taxpayers more than $164,000 a day, a bill changing how Colorado counties and cities can invest their savings languishes on the House calendar because the Republican leadership refuses to bring it to a floor vote. HB12-1005, sponsored by Rep. Dan Pabon (D-Denver) and Sen. Ted Harvey (R-Highlands Ranch), would allow counties to invest public funds in securities that have less than two triple-A ratings.  Without that flexibility, counties and local governments are forced to put their public funds in accounts with a lower interest rate. Their hands are tied, and Colorado taxpayers are footing the bill.

GOP dithering is costing Colorado taxpayers $164,383 a day, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Colorado County Treasurers Association cited today in an article by Tim Hoover in The Denver Post.  

“The House Republicans are always talking about respecting taxpayers,” Rep. Pabon said. “I’ve asked the Republican leadership more than once to move this bill. It’s simply absurd to let it just sit there, when everyone knows it’s costing our local governments tens of thousands of dollars every day.”  

The bill was approved unanimously by the House Finance Committee on Feb. 2. It has sat on the calendar for four weeks. The Republicans’ 33-32 majority in the House means they alone control which bills are scheduled for committee or floor debate.  

“It’s unbelievable how the political games that are being played around here are hurting the people of Colorado and costing taxpayers money,” said Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver), the House Democratic leader. “I hate to sound like a broken record, but the GOP leadership needs to put Coloradans first.”


Full story: “Political Issues” Costing CO Taxpayers 5k Daily

Who is Perry Haney?

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue December 13, 2011 at 5:34 AM MDT

According to the Colorado Statesman, one Perry Haney, Chiropractor, is talking about entering the CO-06 Democratic primary, and he has at least one of Steny Hoyer’s ears…

Just days after former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff made it clear he isn’t jumping into the race for the newly competitive 6th Congressional District seat, wealthy chiropractor Perry Haney has been making the rounds meeting key Democratic players. At the same time, his backers are letting word leak out that the candidate intends to spend what it takes to win the nomination.

“Send a Chiropractor to Congress,” reads campaign material available through Haney’s website. “There’s nothing wrong with Congress that a spine doctor with backbone can’t cure,” says one side of a brochure under a Haney for U.S. Congress logo.

(h/t Daily Kos daily election roundup diary for this catch…)

So I have only one question: who is Perry Haney?  I’ve not heard of him and I’d love comments from anyone within the party who can speak a bit on this potential bid for the nomination in this new district.


Full story: Who is Perry Haney?

Gessler Gets One Right?

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  by: Phoenix Rising Thu September 29, 2011 at 8:44 PM MDT

Today the Colorado Court of Appeals issued its ruling in a case filed by Aspen 2009 Mayoral hopeful and election activist Marilyn Marks.  Marks sued under Colorado’s open records act to gain access to the electronic images of ballots from the 2009 election which she lost.

Although the suit was filed against Gessler in his role as Secretary of State, Gessler has stated in the past that he believes making voted ballots part of the public record would increase transparency and voter confidence – and IMHO, he’s right.

Today’s Court ruling affirms that view.  Voted ballots (and/or electronic images) should be made available to the public provided the voter’s identity cannot be matched to their ballot.

The County Clerks opposed this suit, probably because it could impose a significant burden on their offices.  However, even as someone critical about the lax security we now place around our voting systems, I cannot see any other downside to the ruling.


Full story: Gessler Gets One Right?

At Least He’s Not Your State Senator

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  by: Phoenix Rising Fri March 11, 2011 at 11:37 PM MDT

(“I agree with Hitler” might be #1 on the list of things you should never say if you’re a politician. – promoted by Colorado Pols)



I’ve been writing a few “At Least He’s Not…” diaries lately, but this one I think is destined for an award of some sort.

New Hampshire, like most states, is facing some painful decisions on budget cuts this year.  One thing being cut is medical aid for mental health.

A mental health worker, concerned about the cuts, made a call to her state Senator, one Martin Healy (R-Barrington).  His response to her request is unbelievable.

From the Concord Monitor:

Barrington Republican Martin Harty told Sharon Omand, a Strafford resident who manages a community mental health program, that “the world is too populated” and there are “too many defective people,” according to an e-mail account of the conversation by Omand. Asked what he meant, she said Harty clarified, “You know the mentally ill, the retarded, people with physical disabilities and drug addictions – the defective people society would be better off without.”

[...]

Omand says Harty then stated, “I wish we had a Siberia so we could ship them all off to freeze to death and die and clean up the population.”

Omand said Harty appeared to be serious. After Omand responded that his idea sounded like what Adolf Hitler did in World War II, Omand said Harty responded, “Hitler did something right, and I agree with (it).”

There’s really not much I can add to that.  Harty, who is 91, admits to the first quote but says he was joking about Siberia.


Full story: At Least He’s Not Your State Senator

At Least He’s Not Your Secretary Of State…

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  by: Phoenix Rising Fri March 4, 2011 at 5:47 AM MDT

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)



Not that Sec. Gessler has been a major win for the State of Colorado, and not that he hasn’t tried to step over the line a few times already, but he has nothing on Indiana Secretary of State (for now) Charlie White:

Charlie White [R-Fishers], the recently elected Secretary of State, was indicted for:
     * Voter Fraud (3 counts)
     * Perjury (2 counts)
     * Theft (1 count)

Yes, Charlie managed to prove the Republican mantra that voter fraud does exist in our system.  And yes, Sec. White is supposed to be in charge of Indiana’s voting systems and elections.  And yes, Indiana has one of those ultra-strict voter ID laws that is supposed to catch people committing voter fraud.

(h/t dhonig @ dKos)

So what did Charlie White do to draw 6 counts from a grand jury?

Well, he started as a councilman in Fishers.  After divorcing his wife, he moved to an apartment (re-registering his address properly), and then decided to move to a condo.  Except that the condo wasn’t in the Fishers city limits, which would have meant he would lose his council position.  Simple solution?  He re-registered – using his ex-wife’s address!

Sec. White will continue to do the job he was elected to do, saying

I am humbled by the outpouring of support.

I think he must mean this outpouring of support:

This news is sad and regrettable, but the only course of honor is for Mr. White to step down from his duties, at least during the duration of these proceedings until a verdict is reached.

That would be Republican Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels.  With friends like those…


Full story: At Least He’s Not Your Secretary Of State…

At Least He’s Not Your Pastor – This Time…

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  by: Phoenix Rising Tue March 1, 2011 at 11:47 PM MDT

From the bayou country:

The Rev. Grant Storms,the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon.

Storms, 53, of 2304 Green Acres Road in Metairie, was taken into custody at Lafreniere Park after two women reported seeing him masturbating in the driver’s seat of his van, which was parked near the carousel and playground, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office report said.

Of course, you know where this is leading already, don’t you…


[Grant] is especially known for arming followers with bullhorns, Bibles and picket signs to protest Southern Decadence, the three-day gay festival held in the French Quarter during Labor Day weekend. Storms grabbed national attention in 2003 with his failed attempts to shut down what Southern Decadence organizer Chuck Robinson called a peaceful festival that celebrates gay and alternative lifestyles.

More from WDSU:

The Rev. Grant Storms called himself a “hypocrite” because of his Friday arrest on accusations of masturbating in a public park. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies charged him with obscenity after two women claimed they saw him touching himself while watching children on the playground at Lafreniere Park.

Storms said in a news conference Tuesday that he was not watching the children, but he did have his hand in his pants. He apologized to those he has hurt, and he said he was sorry for targeting Decadence, an annual gay festival in the French Quarter.


Full story: At Least He’s Not Your Pastor – This Time…